So what do you expect, that a place named for the first head of Russia’s Secret Police would be a paradise? Dzerzinsk has been home to Russia’s chemical industry for decades, including their glorious quest for chemical weapons, and as such is second only to that other Russian Gem of a city, Chernobyl as the most lethally polluted and toxic city on the face of the Earth.

The death rate in Dzerzinsk is 3 times the birth rate.

Birth defects, cancers and all other manner of illnesses related to Cold War area chemical weapons research and manufacture are reported due to the severally contaminated soil and ground water.

“Strange creatures” have been reported in the nearby Oka River, including two and three headed frogs, and “unusually misshapen fish”

. . . Ummm..tasty

The Blacksmith Institute released its' list of the world's 10 dirtiest cities - 3 of them are in Russia:

Chernobyl, Ukraine

Dzerzinsk, Russia

Haina, Dominican republic

Kabwe, Zambia

Due to the constant smog in Dzerzinsk, Russia it is, by law, a requirement to wear hankies over the face.

A young girl heads out to the nightclubs in Dzerzinsk

Help Children in Russia with SOS Children

Russia is the largest country in the world and one of the most fascinating and diverse in terms of climate, peoples, culture and history. It spans 11 time zones and 160 degrees of longtitude - nearly halfway around the Earth.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has been striving to overcome the legacy of Communism. While there have been positive economic trends, the benefits are slow to filter down to ordinary people. Wages are low, inequality continues to rise and poverty is at significant levels, particularly among families with children or single-parent families, leading to many children being abandoned into state care or onto the streets.

Plans for the charity to establish an SOS Children's Villagein Russia began in the late 1980s but it wasn’t until 1996 that the first children moved into the 11 family houses in the charity's Tomolino community, on the outskirts of Moscow, as the initial site for the village proved unsuitable and an alternative had to be found. In 2002, a youth house for the older children was established, where they can live and be supported until they are independent.

SOS Children

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